Metech Offers to Recycle Your Mac 60
Rosyna writes "Apple now allows the general public to recycle their Apple branded computers. It only costs thirty US dollars, too. The dumpster is still cheaper. More details at Apple's page and Metech's page."
Anti-Abuse measures? (Score:3, Funny)
Value (Score:4, Insightful)
I plan on hanging onto my G4 for quite a while.
Re:Value (Score:2)
I have an old Classic that I can't think of any usefull (computing) application for. OTOH, if I had a Quadra or somesuch around, I'd slap BSD on it and add it to the collection. The toolshed still has no computer.
Re:Value (Score:1)
here at work (a Mac-only school) most of the old Classics have been recycled into anything from doorstops to picture frames and they look kinda cool, though it's worth pointing out that until this summer at least one was still in active service running the video notice board in the main lobby (that job is now handled by an old powerbook)
recycle? (Score:5, Insightful)
People would recycle Macs? Why? I've never seen one actually wear out. I'm using a 13-y.o. SE/30 running NetBSD at home. My 10-y.o. Centris 650 still boots, and I'm donating it. That's recycling. My main machine is 5 now, and will probably serve me another 2 years before I can upgrade, and then it will probably become a file server in a corner somewhere, or another donor/loaner.
You don't throw it out unless it's dead. And with Macs that takes awhile.
Re:recycle? (Score:1)
Instead of paying $30... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Instead of paying $30... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Instead of paying $30... (Score:1)
Re:Instead of paying $30... (Score:2)
Re:Instead of paying $30... (Score:1)
I just don't relish the memory of installing hardware in that god-awful case.
Why recycle any mac? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Why recycle any mac? (Score:2)
And they sell for approximately $1000 in japan if they are in mint condition.
Apple products break? (Score:5, Interesting)
The older machines had a little "gunk" in the keyboards, but I took them apart and bathed them in Tune-O-Wash (a deadly toxic solvent that every geek should own a can of) and now they are just as crisp as they were when new.
After a few years the bondi blue iMac developed a shorted flyback and a busted fan, but I tracked down the parts and replaced them. I think that has something to do with the fact I bought it the day it came out, and they hadn't worked out the kinks yet. Works great as an wireless MP3 player when combined with a wireless bridge.
If I get rid of these machines it will be on eBay or to a local charity, not recycle.
Cheaper? For _you_, maybe. (Score:5, Insightful)
Sure, for the person who's throwing the computer away. But the long-term costs in human health and environmental damage are high
The trick is that there's no simple way to pass these costs back to the person who puts the computer in the dumpster. [Insert treatise on externalities here.] If you're feeling socially responsible, it's still better to recycle, and far better still to put that old machine to work in some extraodinarily geeky project which will later be featured on Slashdot.
(Speaking of which, has anybody got Linux to run on an Apple ][+ with 48k of ram yet?)
Re:Cheaper? For _you_, maybe. (Score:3, Insightful)
Why should someone who holds on to a machine for a long time subsidise those whose dick goes limp if his machine is 6 months old?
Re:Cheaper? For _you_, maybe. (Score:5, Interesting)
Except, why should everyday consumers be the ones paying this $30 tax? The way I see it, the huge businesses throwing away 1000 486's along with CRT's, or the workers who take them home and then throw them out (initially thinking they got a great deal) are the real ones polluting.
How about this: all businesses or government institutions buying X quantity of computers are required to pay a recycling tax based on how many computers purchased. These computers are then given stickers, certifying them to be recyclable at certain centers. If in the event the business sells this computer to an employee, he or she can always return these machines to be recycled at no charge. I don't think the average consumer should be the one paying for this.
As for my old computers, they've usually been A) put to some other use, B) given away, C) Sold to someone else, or D) Put in my garage. I've yet to just toss one in the trash.
Re:Cheaper? For _you_, maybe. (Score:4, Insightful)
Ummmmmm
The $30 figure here is open for debate -- as is the decision of whether the fee goes at purchase time or discard time (probably the former is easier to enforce, but the latter captures the actual cost better), or even directly to the manufacturer. The point is, it should be in the chain somewhere, in a uniform way for everyone, much as the costs of raw materials are in the chain now. If you introduce something into the space of economic concerns, the market should theoretically react to it. [Insert treatise on tort law here. And possibly refer to somebody who actually knows something about economics.]
Re:Cheaper? For _you_, maybe. (Score:2)
Please say things that are true next time. Thanks.
Re:Cheaper? For _you_, maybe. (Score:2)
They are recycling it for free. All you have to do is pay $30 to ship it to them. Apparently 95% of the components will be diverted from landfill.
Re:Cheaper? For _you_, maybe. (Score:1)
They have to pay the suppliers (Dell, Compaq, etc) to take back the old computers. If I remember properly, this fee was around 30$-50$. Most companies will find it cheaper to donate the computer to local schools, charities or the like.
Same for you, you should recycle what you buy. Someone else doesn't pay for you to recycle your bottles, plastics and paper. You consume, you pay.
However, before you have to do that, though, give it away. You might even get tax credits! And you'll be helping out too... ;-)
If you want to recycle, try the Dell Exchange program [dell.com], they'll give you a 10% rebate on Software or peripherals. They can even handlee donations for you. Need anymore hand holding?
Re:Cheaper? For _you_, maybe. (Score:2, Informative)
In Quebec, Canada, you pay $0.05 for every can and plastic soda bottle you buy, and $0.10 for every beer bottle. You get this money back when you return the bottle for re-use/recycling. I don't know how many other places have similar programs, but if I find a bottle on the street and recycle it, someone is indeed paying me to recycle.. Less litter on the streets, a little more cash for kids, and less waste.
NO! (Score:5, Funny)
dumpsters not an option (Score:1)
Hate to be a bleeding heart tree-hugger about this, but this is a pretty irresponsible statement. Computer hardware should never be thrown out, always recycled.
Besides, who would ever dispose of their Mac, even a dead one? Me, I'll save my $30 and have a cool-looking doorstop when the time comes.
Sad mac bomb (Score:5, Insightful)
I've got an rev. b iMac (the almost-original bondi blue style) with a dead monitor. As near as I can tell the electronics are all fine, but without a working display it won't boot. I'd love to get it running again, minimallly as a "hidden in the closet" server, or better still by finding someone with another dead iMac with a working display where I could merge the parts together into one working machine.
But since just fixing it doesn't seem feasible (a new CRT has been quoted to me for around $500, so that's not an option), and I haven't been able to find anyone for the "franken-mac" idea, my fiance has been trying to get me to throw it away instead, and sooner or later I'm sure she'll have her way on this one.
If it comes to that though, rather than toss it in the trash, I'd rather pay a service like this to recycle it if I could -- the toxins in modern PCs are *nasty* and worth trying to recycle or dispose of properly. Tossing it in a dumpster really isn't the best idea, as a major recent reports (and several related news articles) have highlighted:
There's a reason that the phrase "reduce, reuse, recycle" has the terms in that order. It's better to re-collect the production materials to be used in new products than to throw things away & need more raw resources, but it's better to stretch out the lifespan of existing products before giving them up for scrap at all. Even beyond that through, it's better to consume less at the outset than to stretch out the life of things that you maybe didn't need *or* recycle.
So yeah, it's better to reuse that old working Mac, but when the time comes to give it up -- and that time *will* come, sooner or later -- then it's better to dispose of it responsibly. Recycling isn't necessarily a very clean option, as the report in that last URL illustrates, so the longer you can avoid that the better.
And if anyone in the Boston area has an old iMac with, say, a dead motherboard, let me know :-)
Re:Sad mac bomb (Score:4, Informative)
Also, I read a site a while back about someone who had a similar problem to you - an iMac (don't remember the rev) with a dead CRT - he installed a video card in it somehow. Try googling for it.
Re:Sad mac bomb (Score:1)
Re:Sad mac bomb (Score:2, Informative)
Rev. A-D iMacs (all the tray-loaders) can be fitted up with an ATX PSU (or keep their existing supply) and be connected to an external monitor pretty easily - As long as you don't mind transplanting parts into a generic case.
If you open the machine up, you may just be able to connect an Apple monitor to the logic board, the first few revisions used a standard Apple monitor connection for the CRT.
Can't remember a precise link at the moment, but have a hunt round on the Applefritter forums [applefritter.com] for further details.
Re:Sad mac bomb (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Sad mac bomb (Score:1)
-fp
Rack mount case (Score:3, Informative)
Plus the empty case would make a nice macquarium [theapplecollection.com]
Re:Sad mac bomb (Score:2)
Re:Sad mac bomb (Score:3, Interesting)
Or rip out it's guts, copy the iRack's install guide [marathoncomputer.com], and install all the parts on a piece of plywood...
Or, as another poster said, rip out the drive, install VNC, then put the drive back in...
Also, I know that thay there is something that looks suspiciously like a VGA port and does connect suspiciously near the monitor on the motherboard of my Rev A iMac...
Or you could buy the iPort [griffintechnology.com] from Griffin Technology that adds a serial port and video out to your Rev A or Rev B iMac for only $60...
Or, as a last dich effort, you could rip out the guts, and make an aquarium [mmug.net]....
Or you could send it to me, I'm in the Boston area and would love an old iMac to do the above with...
Seriously, there are so many posibilities. I'm sure with the above you can make the iMac a nice file server. Or whatever.
Orange
AppleVision Monitors (Score:3, Funny)
Re:AppleVision Monitors (Score:1)
Re:AppleVision Monitors (Score:2)
It is a kickass-looking monitor, though. Nice and sharp and clean. If only the ADB ports on it weren't so iffy. I'd buy another one in an instant.
Turn it into a server! (Score:2, Insightful)
Ignorance (Score:2, Insightful)
Because somebody is going to
have to monitor the groundwater,
cleanup the site...
Idiot (Score:5, Insightful)
Not only is it unethical, it's also ILLEGAL in many places to do that. And in some places, can even come with relatively stiff penalties that will definitely be more than $30 if you get caught.
Plus...there are lots of not-for-profits that'll gladly recycle your machine for use...even come and pick it up, and somebody gets to benefit from it. This is "as cheap" as the dumpster and does someone some good.
Or maybe you're just a silly dumpster troll?
Give me your Quadra, I'll recycle it for free! (Score:1)
The classic sneaky disposal method (Score:1)
Dumpsters (Score:1)
True.
Until you factor in any court costs/missed work/other expenses that come from you tossing a CRT into the trash.
What?
Yeah, that's right--in many states, if not most, it's illegal to just throw out CRTs. In some states it's a violation of hazardous waste disposal laws.
(Any Apple service provider will tell you that the proper way to dispose of a CRT is "within accordance of local hazardous waste disposal laws".)
-/-
Mikey-San
Mac Recycling (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Mac Recycling (Score:3, Interesting)
and tosses the rest. Says the old Macs have great 5 volt power supplies, unlike the crappy supplies
in PCs. He must be using a couple dozen in projects at his company.
It is not the computer's fault that Maxwell's equations are not adequate to design the electric motor. - A. Perlis
To hell with recycling... (Score:2)
A WEEE problem in Europe (Score:1, Interesting)
At the moment we are in a transitional phase but in a few short years companies such as Apple will have to foot the bill for the safe disposal (including any logistical issues) of its equipment and estimates are (industry estimates not Apple's) that this could lead to a 1% increase in prices.
The WEEE directive is a great read (googling 'WEEE' should bring something up) and a sign the the EU is going to get tough on this issue.
I read the draft proposal sometime back and wholeheartedly agree with their stance on the issue.
Why use a dumpster? (Score:4, Funny)
Recycling BIOS/ROM licences? (Score:1)
I've no idea if the same issues apply today, but it's an interesting possibility.
or instead.. (Score:2)
recycled - refurbished! (Score:1)
they should then form a distributed network (Score:1)
1) charge money to take it back (they already do)
2) build up a network of clustered Macs to make a big supercomputer
3) charge users for time running apps on this cluster (the applications that run on supercomputers would be pretty limited, but also means limited to the groups that are willing to pay $$$)
That would mean that they have to ship in the computers, so that would take a chunk (if not all) that that $30 fee.
Then would have to build a network to cluster then - likely gigabit if not fiber - does Dolphin do Mac networking?
I don't know of a Mosix/OpenMosix for the PowerPC world, so it would have to be a Beowulf style.
They would make money off of the collection and the use of the system, but would have to spend in order to supply power, AC, and keeping track of the network.
This is something that would have a range of usefulness (profitablity) and then would eventually hit a point where it no longer scaled correctly and they would spend too much to maintain it.
To avoid that, they could cycle computerrs in and out of the network. As they get faster computers being turned in, they can swap out the crappier systems that are part of the cluster.
blah blah blah - anyways - just something that popped into mind when I saw that they were getting machines for free, and getting money on top of that (like I said, not sure how much of that money goes towards shipping).
Once they use them in the cluster, then they could actually recycle them like they say.
Not to mention all of the stuff that they could strip off of the drives that are coming in.